POULTRY FOR PROFIT 175 



Emaciation is the surest symptom. There is pallor 

 of the comb and wattles, general weakness, lameness, 

 ruffling of the feathers, and in many cases, diarrhea. 

 "When combined with the foregoing you notice a 

 bright eye and a ravenous appetite, you may have 

 very strong suspicions." If a post-mortem reveals 

 the liver, spleen, and intestines "studded with white, 

 cheesy nodules of various sizes," your suspicions will 

 be strengthened, but it is only by examination of 

 these nodules under a microscope that the pathologist 

 can be absolutely sure that the bacilli are present. 



Treatment. — When tuberculosis has reached a 

 stage where it can be diagnosed there is no longer 

 any cure. Sick birds should be killed, and all birds 

 which are suspected removed from the flock. Disin- 

 fect houses, runs, feeding troughs and water vessels, 

 using cresol disinfectant or a carbolic solution on 

 houses, troughs and fountains, and lime on the 

 ground. If many birds are affected it may be neces- 

 sary to move to clean ground. Dr. Salmon says: 

 "When the disease is discovered the effort should be 

 to eradicate it at once by killing off the whole flock 

 and thoroughly disinifecting all the houses and 

 runs." 



Aspergillosis 



This is a very common disease and is caused by 

 eating moldy food or scratching in moldy hay or 

 straw. It is often mistaken for tuberculosis and is 

 a frequent cause of the condition known as "going 

 light." The mold spores find lodgment on the mem- 

 branes of the air passages and grow there, causing 

 inflammation and sometimes abscesses. 



Salmon gives this account of the symptoms of the 

 disease: "In the early stages of the disease no 

 symptoms are noticed, and it is only after it has pro- 



